ENVIRONMENTAL education and protection is an integral part of the Sandals Foundation’s guiding mandate. In keeping with their thrust towards maintaining a sustainable environment, the Sandals Foundation continues to organize activities that will foster greater awareness to protecting our oceans and seas.
In observance of International Coastal Cleanup Day in Saint Lucia, the Sandals Foundation engaged team members, along with a number of community groups to include the Caribbean Youth Environmental Network (CYEN), Babonneau Youth Synergy Group and the Iyanola Project, to clean up the Grande Anse beach, Saint Lucia’s least accessible beach on the rugged north-eastern coast.
The Grande Anse Beach is an important site for turtle and iguana nesting and a prime region of rich biodiversity. Over fifty volunteers participated in the cleanup, collecting twenty bags of garbage to restore the beach to its usual splendour. The Foundation also organized coastal cleanups in Jamaica, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados and Turks & Caicos.
Surrounded by Saint Lucia’s mountainous eastern coast, Grande Anse beach is far removed from the island’s development and usual tourist spots and requires constant monitoring to ensure that it remains in pristine condition.
The Sandals Foundation has been keen to participate in this venture and will, among other activities, continue to build awareness among schoolchildren. Children tend to show a natural interest in the environment and want to learn about ways in which they can help to preserve it. Over the next month, 10 schools will be visited, promoting the idea of protecting the marine and terrestrial environment.
In addition to the activities of the Foundation, the resort group continues to monitor the impact of its daily operations on the surrounding community and the environment. Sandals Foundation has taken a leadership role in environmental conservation and invites its team members, guests from the resorts, business and community partners and other groups to join in this effort to preserve the earth.
